Philippines FM to US: Don’t Lecture Us, We aren’t Little Brown Brothers
Local Editor
The Philippines foreign minister has warned that his country will not be treated like a "little brown brother" to the US, and will not be lectured on human rights. It follows inflammatory statements made by the nation's president about US President Barack Obama.
Speaking in Washington on Thursday, Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay said: "I am asking our American friends, American leaders, to look at our aspirations. We cannot forever be the little brown brothers of America...we have to develop, we have to grow and become the big brother of our own people."
"You [have to] manage it correctly. You do not go to the Philippines and say, ‘I am going to give you something, I am going to help you grow, but this is the checklist you must comply with - we will lecture you on human rights,'" he said.
Yasay went on to stress, however, that the country's president is still "firmly committed to keep and respect alliances, including that with the United States."
But relations between President Rodrigo Duterte and Barack Obama are anything but happy at the moment.
Yasay insisted on Thursday, however, that many of Duterte's recent comments and actions regarding the US have been misunderstood, and rejected criticism of the president's controversial war on drugs, stating that Manila would never condone illegal killings.
He also claimed that Duterte's call for the withdrawal of US Special Forces from the southern Philippines was only a temporary measure aimed at keeping them safe, while Philippines forces took part in an offensive against Abu Sayyaf militants.
He also said that Duterte's opposition to joint maritime patrols with the US concerned the Philippines' "exclusive economic zone" - not joint patrols within 12 nautical miles off its coast.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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